"But! It's not bad at all!"
After looking around,
Though the place was cramped and devoid of furniture, with thick layers of dust accumulated in many corners, in the
Now that he could live here for free, what more could he ask for?
What satisfied Leylin even more was that this property belonged to the Steward family, and Thomas had even gone out of his way to register it under his name.
With their guarantee, he figured that even during the city-wide searches that would inevitably come, this place would remain as steady as a mountain.
Leylin was well aware of what he had set in motion. The Holy City would be thrown into turmoil for quite some time, and without a powerful backer, even dealing with the searches alone would be a tremendous headache.
Otherwise, it wasn't as though Leylin lacked valuable assets—so why insist on living here?
Not wanting to offend them was one factor. The other was to use the Steward family's banner as cover for himself.
As for what would happen to the Steward family—and Thomas in particular—once his plan was set in motion and ultimately exposed, that was entirely outside Leylin's concern.
He had thought long and hard about today's course of action.
In truth, the idea had first taken root today when he witnessed the Agnès siblings' infatuation with the
Once he'd been brought into the Holy City, the Belinda sisters' usefulness had been nearly exhausted, and what followed would only be trouble!
In this world of ruthless survival where the strong devoured the weak and rules were nonexistent, being weak in strength yet possessing beauty was the greatest trouble of all!
The choice was crystal clear. On one side, maintaining his relationship with the Belinda sisters, deeply offending the Agnès siblings and the Steward family behind them. On the other, severing ties, earning their understanding and protection. In Leylin's eyes, there was no decision to make at all.
When one's own strength was insufficient, choosing not to lie low and instead stubbornly pushing forward—unless the author was handing out cheat-like powers left and right, that was simply courting death!
Though Leylin could hardly be called weak, in the Infernal Realm—and the Holy City in particular—he was still someone who would be killed the moment he showed his true colors.
Yes! He could display his power, utterly humiliate Thomas, then Agnès, and finally climb to prominence by trampling over the Steward family, making his name known throughout the entire Holy City! For a time, he'd be the talk of every tongue!
And then? His origins would immediately draw suspicion. The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents would take one look—and wasn't this exactly the fellow she'd been searching for? He'd practically delivered himself right to her doorstep! She'd be overjoyed, and then Leylin would be completely finished!
The root cause of all this was… two women? Was it really worth it?
In fact, Leylin hadn't even developed any real feelings for Belinda and her sister. They were nothing more than travelling companions he'd happened to meet along the way—Belinda's faint fondness and a few casual jokes at most. And for that, Leylin was expected to risk his life and ultimately lose everything he had! Wasn't that the most absurd bargain imaginable?
With the Ten Thousand Serpents Curse Mark eating away at his body and death steadily closing in, to still be fretting over petty jealousy—this went beyond mere stupidity.
"What I need right now is to lay low as much as possible. Picking a fight with the Steward family, the local power here, is clearly very unwise… especially over two women…"
Leylin shook his head.
Rather than clashing head-on with Thomas and letting the situation spiral out of control until his identity was exposed, Leylin had simply chosen the plan that carried the least risk and offered the greatest reward.
"Honestly, hasn't Thomas even realised that his biggest obstacle to winning Belinda and her sister isn't me at all—it's his own sister, Agnès?"
Leylin stroked his chin, a faint, wicked smile curling at the corner of his lips.
With Agnès lurking on the sidelines like a tiger eyeing its prey, Thomas's little scheme hadn't even begun yet, and it could already be declared a resounding failure!
As for Thomas's humiliation today—once Leylin broke free of the shackles of his bloodline, he would naturally make Thomas pay the price in blood!
Thinking about it this way, handing Belinda and her sister over to that woman Agnès for safekeeping temporarily, in exchange for a rare entry pass into the city and a guarantee of safety—it didn't seem like such a bad deal after all.
Compared to all of this, he had far more important things to attend to.
Without exchanging so much as a nod with his neighbours, whose expressions flickered with barely concealed envy, Leylin shut the door firmly behind him.
This two-storey apartment, complete with a walled courtyard out front, was precisely the sort of place he had been hoping for.
And when his gaze fell upon the small flower bed nestled inside the courtyard wall, a genuine smile bloomed across Leylin's face.
"Not bad! Very nice! If only no one came bothering me from now on, that would be even better—but sadly, that's impossible…"
Leylin sighed and glanced down at his own palm.
Under the glow of the light, the bluish-green lines of his veins were clearly visible, and he could even feel the faint, persistent sensation of his life force being drained away, leaving a trace of weakness in his body.
"This condition…" Leylin let out a bitter laugh. "Chip!"
[Alert! Calculating host's vital signs… Results complete! Under the Holy City's environment, the Ten Thousand Serpents Curse Mark's corrosive power will be significantly amplified. Estimated host lifespan: three years and two months!]
"Even though the seal has stopped the Ten Thousand Serpents Curse Mark from draining my bloodline and soul, the loss of life force is still inevitable... To break through the shackles placed by an eighth-tier existence through a curse is simply far too difficult..."
A trace of sigh lingered in Leylin's eyes. No matter how carefully he planned or how far ahead he thought, a single triggered seal from the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents could instantly strip him back to square one.
This was the gap that absolute strength created. Leylin had always preferred bullying the weak with the strong, and what he detested most was precisely this kind of situation where he had no choice but to challenge a far more powerful being.
When you could profit safely and still chose to take risks and play with your heart rate, you were a madman!
"Fortunately, after several attempts, my Full Moon-level True Soul, along with my previous preparations, still gives me a fighting chance! Cough, cough..."
Leylin coughed twice and stepped into the apartment.
He spent the better part of a day inspecting nearly every corner of the rundown apartment, even secretly replacing the defensive formations with ones entirely of his own making.
These family properties — if Leylin believed for even a second that there was nothing like surveillance or detection devices hidden inside, he would have to be dead.
Under the Chip's atomic-level scan and Leylin's own eyes as a Grandmaster of Arrays, several small devices had nowhere to hide.
Of course, Leylin chose not to dismantle them directly and burn bridges with the Stewald family. Instead, he simply placed an additional layer of seals around each device, letting them believe everything was still under their control while ensuring that not a single trace of his actions would leak out.
Moreover, by nightfall, the courtyard walls had been covered in a layer of gray runes that slowly faded from view.
"It's a hastily constructed barrier, but it should be more than enough to deal with the neighbors around here!"
Leylin muttered to himself as he made his way into a room sealed on all four sides.
The rotting floorboards gave off a foul smell, and a thick layer of dust covered the ground. With no windows, the entire room felt gloomy and oppressive.
A sacrificial witchcraft array was set up by Leylin, with a rune depicting a giant bird at its center.
Tendrils of gray power flowed ceaselessly across its surface, making the runic bird appear as though it were about to spread its wings and take flight.
"Great Sovereign of Chaos! Wings of Fluctuation! Free
A wave of psychic will burst from Leylin, and the Full Moon-level True Soul power instantly connected through the sacrificial array to some distant existence.
"Emperor of Comorin! You've actually infiltrated the Holy City! Good! Very good! Excellent!"
An excited will emanated from the Defiled Bird in response, but no avatar descended — after all, this was already the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' backyard, and the surveillance here was extremely tight.
In truth, if Leylin were discovered making sacrifices to the Defiled Bird, not only would he be hunted down and killed on the spot, but even Thomas would not escape the consequences.
The Holy City of the Hell Continent! There could only ever be one supreme ruler! And that was the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents! Even their allies, the Eye of Judgement, could not extend their reach here, let alone the likes of the Defiled Bird.
Thus, upon seeing that Leylin had successfully infiltrated deep behind enemy lines, the Defiled Bird's excitement was entirely understandable.
"Great Supreme Sovereign, I beseech you to rain down the power of chaos to conceal all traces within this apartment, shielding me from the gaze of the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents!"
Leylin prayed with earnest sincerity, yet offered no sacrifice.
"Of course! Consider it a reward for bringing the power of chaos into the Holy City! If you continue to worship me faithfully, you will surely become one of my right hands in the future! A Level Six worshipper!"
A faint chirp drifted over, and immediately a ring of grey began creeping along the ground and walls, soon engulfing the entire apartment.
Everything unfolded in secret, as silent and imperceptible as spring rain nourishing the earth, without producing any eerie fluctuations or glimmers of light.
Watching the glow within the magic array dim, Leylin's eyes flickered with a different kind of gleam.
This time he had offered no sacrifice, yet the Defiled Bird had magnanimously helped him conceal his existence and descended with a great deal of power — clearly with no good intentions.
It had most likely not abandoned its plan to use the power of chaos to thoroughly corrupt him, eventually turning him into one of its pawns.
For now, the two sides had been barely held together solely because they shared a common enemy — the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents.
Should any disagreement arise in the future, becoming outright enemies was entirely possible.
"It seems my successful infiltration this time has stirred up quite the excitement on their end!"
Leylin sneered coldly. "A pity, but the next phase of the plan no longer concerns them, and I won't be seeking them out again! The Defiled Bird's schemes are destined to come to absolutely nothing!"